“Marvelous in her shrewdness and cunning is the Romish Church. She can read what is to be…The Roman Catholic Church, with all its ramifications throughout the world, forms one vast organization under the control, and designed to serve the interests, of the papal see. Its millions of communicants, in every country on the globe, are instructed to hold themselves as bound in allegiance to the pope. Whatever their nationality or their government, they are to regard the authority of the church as above all other. Though they may take the oath pledging their loyalty to the state, yet back of this lies the vow of obedience to Rome, absolving them from every pledge inimical to her interests. History testifies of her artful and persistent efforts to insinuate herself into the affairs of nations; and having gained a foothold, to further her own aims, even at the ruin of princes and people.”1
Pope Francis and the Vatican are using the issue of terrorism, which they term “fundamentalism,” to their advantage to insert Catholic principles and policies into international politics and reestablish her authority over both church and state. Pope Francis knows how to effectively exploit the emotions of the mournful, the panic-stricken, the fearful and anyone else in a vulnerable state of mind and take advantage of them so that they will sympathize with him. He politicizes his public speeches and written statements to propagate his self-serving agenda and solutions for the social, environmental, economic and moral evils that exist in the world, some of which are created by that very system. The attacks in Brussels, Belgium were no exception; Pope Francis eagerly seized the opportunity to get his message across.
Under a headline that reads “After Brussels attacks, Pope asks Virgin Mary to ‘convert the hearts of fundamentalists,’” the Catholic Herald reports “In the wake of the terrorist attacks on Brussels, Pope Francis has requested prayers for the conversion of heart of those taken in by fundamentalism. At his Wednesday audience, the Pope said: ‘To all, I ask that you persevere in prayer and in asking the Lord in this Holy Week to comfort the hearts of the afflicted and to convert the hearts of those people taken in by cruel fundamentalism.’ He then led the crowd in saying a Hail Mary. The Pope said: “I renew an appeal to all people of good will to unite in the unanimous condemnation of these cruel abominations that have only caused death, terror and horror.”2
Pope Francis has ridden the theme of religious fundamentalism time and time again. He once stated that “Fundamentalism is a sickness that is in all religions…who believe they possess the absolute truth and go ahead dirtying the other with calumny, with disinformation, and doing evil. They do evil.”3 Again Pope Francis said that “religious fundamentalism isn’t religion, it’s idolatry, adding that ideas and false certainties take the place of faith, love of God and love of others. You cannot cancel a whole religion because there is a group or many groups of fundamentalists at certain moments of history.”4
In an address to a delegation of Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, and Hindus at an event commemorating the 50th anniversary of a document from the Vatican Two Council concerning interfaith relations, “Pope Francis called on the world’s religions to join forces in the fight against fundamentalism and extremism, arguing instead for a focus on ‘positive values’ such as the promotion of peace, care for the poor, and environmental protection.”5
Again, speaking before a joint session of congress, the plea is uttered “Our world is increasingly a place of violent conflict, hatred and brutal atrocities, committed even in the name of God and of religion. We know that no religion is immune from forms of individual delusion or ideological extremism. This means that we must be especially attentive to every type of fundamentalism, whether religious or of any other kind.”6
The running thematic thread throughout the Pope’s speeches is his reiteration of destroying fundamentalism through the unification of nations and religions; the head of said union being the Pope of course, whose universal solution to every issue threatening peace and security is Sunday sacredness. However, in this particular speech following the Brussels attacks, another component is added to the equation, which is the request for prayer for those taken in by fundamentalism and invoking Mary [now dead] for the prayers to be answered. “Through the two great errors, the immortality of the soul and Sunday sacredness, Satan will bring the people under his deceptions. While the former lays the foundation of spiritualism, the latter creates a bond of sympathy with Rome. he Protestants of the United States will be foremost in stretching their hands across the gulf to grasp the hand of spiritualism; they will reach over the abyss to clasp hands with the Roman power; and under the influence of this threefold union, this country will follow in the steps of Rome in trampling on the rights of conscience.”7
Given the definition of “fundamentalist” provided by the Pope himself–those who believe in absolute truth and who criticize other religions–the historical record of the Papacy’s past cruelties and Bible prophecy, there is no ambiguity whatsoever as to who the real targets are, the “fundamentalists” that need to be converted through Mary’s intervention or otherwise be tortured and utterly destroyed. That targeted group is none other than those defined in Revelation 12:17, and who go forth fearlessly proclaiming the Three Angels’ Messages, which inevitably unveils the identity and corruption of the system of Babylon as well as her final demise. Are the people of God so firmly established in the truth that they will not be moved when the pressure is brought upon them with unrelenting intensity, will they continue to bear the straight testimony? May God help us!
Sources
1. White, Ellen. The Great Controversy (1911), page 580
2. http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2016/03/23/after-brussels-attacks-pope-asks-virgin-mary-to-convert-the-hearts-of-fundamentalists/
3. http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2015/11/30/pope-francis-says-he-is-not-losing-any-sleep-over-vatican-leaks-trial/
4. Ibid
5. Ibid
6. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/09/24/pope-franciss-speech-to-congress-annotated/
7. White, Ellen. The Great Controversy (1911), page 588
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